A funnel cloud appears in the distance in Level Plains, Ala., on June 10, 2012. A severe weather threat this week in the central U.S. will likely only be a preview of what is to come later this year.

Written by

Doyle Rice
| USA Today

After a remarkably quiet start to the severe weather season in the U.S. - which included the fewest number of tornadoes in March in several decades - signs are pointing to a more active pattern for April. This includes the possibility of an outbreak this week in the central U.S.

This week's severe weather outbreak "is likely to be the worst of the season so far," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski says, with the greatest threat Tuesday in the central and southern Plains, and Wednesday in the mid- to lower Mississippi Valley.